# Member Lounge > Miscellaneous >  Does your name sound funny in Japanese (katakana) ?

## Maciamo

Does your first or last name sound strange or funny to Japanese ears ? 

I know of an Italian guy whose family name is "Cami". Everytime he goes to a shop, office, etc in Japan and has to give his name, at first nothing special happens, but when the bank clerk or waiter in restaurant call his name, it becomes "Cami-sama", which sound exactly like "Kami-sama 神様 , ie.. "God".

Italians are not fortunate in Japan as their name can easily sound like an existing Japanese word. Searching the web, I have found that the name "Ecci" existed. I can't imagine Mr Ecci going to Japan and telling their name to the immigration (especially a hot girl to male staff), as etchi means both "sex" and "horny" (or even "pervert") in Japanese. 

Do you know any other funny names like that ?

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## Golgo_13

Most people name their dogs my [real] name in Japan.

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## neko_girl22

Kuro-chan?  :Laughing:  

Golgo! O-te!  :Laughing:

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## playaa

HAHA Maciamo! Funny..

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## Brooker

My mother, Susan (she also uses, Sue), took a Japanese class. When she used "Susan" in class, the teacher would scold her and say "You can't use `-san' with your own name." She kept saying, "No, that's my name." And the teacher would say, "Yes, but not when you refer to yourself only when others refer to you". It took her a long time to explain what her real name was. I think, in the end, they called her, "Susan-san".

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## SandWitch

My last name sounds weird in english. My last name is Butt. Yes it is pronounced the same way as a butt. Really embarising when wisiting English speaking countrys where people have to confirm if it really is Butt. 

Once someone asked my sister in-law how could her last name be Butt, and she answeard: Because i'm married to a Butt. 
 :Laughing:   :Laughing:   :Laughing:

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## kuchi

> My last name sounds weird in english. My last name is Butt. Yes it is pronounced the same way as a butt. Really embarising when wisiting English speaking countrys where people have to confirm if it really is Butt. 
> 
> Once someone asked my sister in-law how could her last name be Butt, and she answeard: Because i'm married to a Butt.


lol...i use the translation (or what i was told) of my first name on forums, and iv found it tends too make young american guys chuckle.

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## silver angel

My name is kinda funny for Japanese to pronnounce.
Shi-ru-ba-na
(Silvana)
I had a Japanese guy sit for at least half and hour trying to say it correctly, I told him to call me Silly, but he refused.
 :Sick:

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## Golgo_13

Any guy named "Gus" would be written "gasu" which is the same spelling in Katakana and pronunciation as gas, e.g., flatulence

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## RockLee

Mine is David --> Deibitto aka デイビット in カタカナ(Katakana) Funny hehe  :Blush:

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## kirei_na_me

> My name is kinda funny for Japanese to pronnounce.
> Shi-ru-ba-na
> (Silvana)
> I had a Japanese guy sit for at least half and hour trying to say it correctly, I told him to call me Silly, but he refused.


The problem you can run into when getting a Japanese person to call you "silly" would be that they could be thinking that you called yourself "shiri", which means "butt"...  :Poh:

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## Belle

I dont know how to say my name in japanese

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## Uncle Frank

I used to tell Japanese people my name was Bobo. I
think it had a dirty meaning in slang; it seemed to raise eyebrows when I used it?

Frank
 :Blush:

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## silver angel

:Laughing:  bobo, that's awesome!!!! Uncle Bobo!!

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## Golgo_13

> I dont know how to say my name in japanese


Can you tell us your name in English?




> I used to tell Japanese people my name was Bobo. I
> think it had a dirty meaning in slang; it seemed to raise eyebrows when I used it?
> 
> Frank


Like the professional wrestler Bobo Brazil. He fought in Japan a fwe times.

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## Belle

My name is Belle

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## Golgo_13

> My name is Belle


That would be pronounced "Beru" by a Japanese, and they would know it as meaning something that goes "Ding, Dong !" but not as an "attractive woman." A very informed Japanese would know that "Bell" is often a surname.

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## Elgin

> Most people name their dogs my [real] name in Japan.


Same here my first name is Ruku. When I do a search all I get is dog photos and profiles.

My last name doesn't make any sense its Refububure, I have trouble saying it. I don't even know if it means anything, I got it off this website that translate your name into katakana.

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## Golgo_13

> Same here my first name is Ruku. When I do a search all I get is dog photos and profiles.
> 
> My last name doesn't make any sense its Refububure, I have trouble saying it. I don't even know if it means anything, I got it off this website that translate your name into katakana.


You should try "Ruuku" (with a longer u)

There was a baseball player in Japan named "Jimu Refiibaa". Re, Fu+I, I, Ba, A.
It turned out it was Jim LeFevre.

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## Elgin

ルーク that's how its writen maybe its ruuku but I still get dogs when I search.

 

Refiibaa humm I guess that's closer to my last name then Refububure

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## michi

How is Michelle said in Japanese?

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## Golgo_13

> How is Michelle said in Japanese?


Misheru. Doesn't sound bad at all. I doubt that anyone names their dog that.  :Laughing:  

Anyone in Japan over the age of 50 who was a Beatles fan would remember the song "Michelle my Belle".

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## michi

> Misheru. Doesn't sound bad at all. I doubt that anyone names their dog that.  
> 
> Anyone in Japan over the age of 50 who was a Beatles fan would remember the song "Michelle my Belle".


Thanks Golgo.

Misheru does have a nice ring to it, no?  :Smiling: 

By the way, how does translating other languages into katakana work?

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## Golgo_13

Just pronounce the word the way a Japanese person would, then spell it out phonetically in Katakana.

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## mingzhi

My name is Sara ... doesn't it mean plate in Japanese ?

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## chiquiliquis

> My name is Sara ... doesn't it mean plate in Japanese ?


I depends on the Kanji that are used to make it... yes plate is one meaning of 'Sara'... but there are Japanese people who have this name. I don't know what other Kanji are used for the name, but it's probably something really eloquent in meaning, as most Japanese names are.




> Mine is David --> Deibitto aka デイビット in カタカナ(Katakana) Funny hehe


We are in the same boat Lee-kun. But I seem to meet a lot of people who think "Deibitto" is too long (!!???)... so they ask me if I have a shorter name. Many of my friends call me Dave... but Dave usually gets changed to "Debu"--which, of course, means fat(ty).  :Sad:

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## Golgo_13

> My name is Sara ... doesn't it mean plate in Japanese ?


Yes, and in Osaka-ben it also means "new" (an object)

"Ah, sara no kutsu haiteru yanka !"  :Cool:

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## tsukinoko

Hihihi, this is a nice way of learning about all the real names  :Laughing:  
Mine is not as spectacular, I don't think it has a meaning in Japanese, 'cause everybody kept calling me that way - I got really used to it in Japanese pronounciation. Nah, I won't tell it now!  :Smiling:

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## Golgo_13

> Hihihi, this is a nice way of learning about all the real names  
> Mine is not as spectacular, I don't think it has a meaning in Japanese, 'cause everybody kept calling me that way - I got really used to it in Japanese pronounciation. Nah, I won't tell it now!


Is yuor name Ursula? In Germany, thaat would be shortened to Uschi.

In Japanese Ushi means a cow.  :Laughing:  

But you're more like a supermodel.

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## tsukinoko

@Golgo, should I really reply to this?!  :Wink: 
My name is actually spanish.  :Smiling:

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## Golgo_13

> @Golgo, should I really reply to this?! 
> My name is actually spanish.


If you want, you can just reply by a PM and I'll let you know by PM what your name would sound like in Japanese. I'm sure it sounds nice. Most Spanish names sound fine in Japanese because they're both very phonetic languages. Dontcha worry 'bout a thing.  :Cool:

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## jeisan

not my first name anway lol about the same, refer to my screename.
last name is about odd but not too bad.
think my middle name make it out fine but i dont know for sure, anthony if anyone wants to give it a shot lol

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## kuchi

so david is not kuchi in japanese?

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## Golgo_13

No, "Mouth" is Kuchi.

you don't translate names like you do in the West, e.g., Juan=John=Jean=Johan=Ivan=Giovanni or Joe=Jose=Giuseppi.

All Western names have Biblic origins, and since the Japanese have not traditionally been Christians they don't have their equivalents of Western names.

Like I said above, all you do is pronounce your name like a Japanese person would, and write it down in Roma ji phonetically.

Therefore, David would be Deibiddo.

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## curveegrrl

My last name is Rika- in katakana. Which a lot of my students found amusing. 

It seems liquor is also rika-.

sigh

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## Golgo_13

"liquor" would be pronounced more like "rikkaa".

In the 1960s and 1970s there were manga and anime characters named "Rika" so I don't know why they would be amused.

Nice name noetheless.

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## Satori

SilverAngel ~ I love the name Silvana!! That is so cool. 

Well, my first name is Shelley. Anyone know how that would translate?? (I used to have a Tai Chi teacher who always called me "Sherry" instead. Don't know what that one would mean either.)



 :Smiling:

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## blessed

does anyone know if Iria means anything in iapanese? 
I just can't see my last name meaning much: Gerushevesekii, but why not try it.  :Laughing:

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## 60Yen

my name is (Jan) van Erven, guess that doesn't really have a meaning...

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